Buying a Tea Kettle

Choosing the Best Tea Kettle: What You Should Know

Whether you’re enjoying a relaxing mug of tea, getting caught up on the day’s headlines on your tablet, or winding down from the day while reading a bestseller on a Kindle, you're probably unaware that the original tea maker was an ancient traveler in China, or that cowboys used a tea kettle to make coffee around the campfire. In fact, tea may have many health benefits, including increased endurance and hydration as well as disease-fighting properties. To get that feeling of relaxation and serenity from your tea ritual, start with the right equipment. You can choose the best tea kettle for you when you understand your own personal style and needs.

While a tea kettle and a teapot may appear similar, they, in fact, are not the same. Traditional teapots are designed to steep tea in hot water, while a tea kettle simply heats water quickly for your tea. A hybrid version will both heat water and provide a vessel to steep your tea. You can choose a glass teapot to work in tandem with your tea kettle, or you can choose a teapot with infuser, which has a built-in tea ball for loose-leaf tea. Summertime is perfect for a specialty iced tea maker, while a personal tea-maker set will make one cup of tea at a time at the office. A whistling tea kettle alerts you when the water boils, while an updated version simply changes color from black to red as it heats.

Getting the Most Out of Your Tea Kettle

Once you’ve decided on your tea kettle's style, consider the components of the tea-making process: tea and water. If you have your own herb garden, you can make your own tea; prepare the herbs for brewing by tying their stems together and hanging them upside down until they are dried, usually in days or weeks. The same herbs can dry in as little as 12–24 hours if you use a food dehydrator. Your tea consists of up to 98% water, so make sure you're using the best, either filtered water, or water from a water purifier. You'll get the best flavor with no aftertaste. Finally, if you like chai lattes or even an espresso macchiato, you might want to get a milk frother to add foamy, creamy goodness to your drink.